


Visitor

by Varewulf



Series: Magical Girl Aya Adventures [1]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Action, Gen, Superpowers AU, magical girl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 21:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18583018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: A Magical Girl Aya adventure.Aya is drawn to a remote, uninhabited island where the Guardians detected a strange signal. But what will she find?Canon with the Superpowers AU, but hopefully should work as stand-alone.





	Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> More "while I figure out what to do next" writing!
> 
> A couple of months ago I was tempted by the idea to actually write some stories about what Aya does, and has done as a magical girl. If this turns into a series, it will be stories both past and present about Aya's deeds. Stories she can't or won't tell anyone about for whatever reason, but that are still canon with everything else happening in the Superpowers AU. But aside from being aware that Aya is a very powerful magical girl, this series should be open to newcomers. I hope. I don't plan to rely too much on anything happening in the SPAU, nor is anything that happens here likely to be brought up in the regular SPAU series. Maybe a small nod here and there.
> 
> Aya's mission is to protect Earth against any external threats, not just the inter-dimensional invaders. Which can open up to all sorts of stories. And the first idea that came to mind was: What if Aya met another magical girl, and had to fight someone who could do the same things as her?
> 
> The tone and style for this doesn't really fit with the fluffy slice of life style that the regular series has going, which is why it kinda has to be its own series.

Aya spotted a clearing, and went in for a landing. Her feet set down silently on the soft grass.

_~You're sure this is the place?~_

It was literally the middle of nowhere. An uninhabited island that was too far north for anyone to want to visit it for leisure. You couldn't even see the mainland coast, or any other islands, from the top of the sole mountain in the middle. Granted it wasn't much of a mountain, maybe 500 metres above sea level at most, but it was definitely rocky, and kinda pointy.

Pretty much the only things present were trees, rocks, and birds.

_~POSITIVE.~_

_~Why would an invader show up here?~_

As far as she understood, the invaders did not have complete control of where they would emerge, but they had enough that they were able to appear somewhere they could cause havoc, or at least pretty close to such a place. On the island there was nothing to do except flatten trees, or terrify wildlife. Though she hadn't spotted any signs of damage on her approach.

_~WE DO NOT THINK IT IS AN INVADER.~_

_~What?~_

_~THE ENERGY SIGNATURE IS WRONG. WE ARE NOT SURE WHAT IT IS, BUT BE ON YOUR GUARD.~_

Aya looked around. There was some chirping and squawking of birds, some rustling of animals that had somehow found their way out to such a remote island, but little else. There weren't a lot of insects active that time of year either.

_~I can't feel anything.~_

_~INDEED. THE READINGS VANISHED WHILE YOU WERE ON YOUR WAY HERE. IT IS POSSIBLE THE SOURCE MOVED ON AFTER CROSSING OVER.~_

Then Aya's trip out there was a waste. Well, maybe not exactly. She could still look for clues. But where would she even start? There was nothing to pick up. She'd have to fly around the whole island, using both her eyes and senses to look for any traces. If she could at least find the crossing over point, that should hold some residual traces. Unless the Guardians picked up something elsewhere, there wasn't much else she could do...

She spun around, and raised her arms in a cross in front of her to block an incoming blow. Even though she reacted in time, the force behind it pushed her back a good 10-15 metres, leaving a trail where her feet dragged along the ground.

_Ow._

"Aw, did I reveal myself somehow? Or are you truly that good?"

Aya lowered her arms, and saw someone standing at the side of the clearing she had just been at. Right where her trail started.

It looked like a girl. She was dressed in red shorts under a purple mini-skirt, with black stockings that ran up past her knees, boots with red soles, a black shirt with two red vertical stripes to the side that were just barely not covered by the black jacket, and finally finger-less black gloves. She also had a red stripe in her hair, and purple eyes...

 _Wait a minute..._ "Ran-chan?" Aya thought it looked like Mitake Ran, but how was that possible?

"So it really is you in this world, Maruyama-san." Even with the distance between them, Aya could make out Ran's disapproving frown. "I didn't figure someone like you would get chosen."

 _This world?_ Aya wasn't sure what that meant. "What are you doing here, Ran-chan? And why are you-"

Suddenly Ran was right in front of her, fist raised. Aya managed to block the worst of the hit, but there was enough force left to send her flying into a tree, and snapping the trunk in half. Thankfully it did not fall on top of her.

" _Don't_ call me that," Ran hissed. "And I'm here for you, obviously."

Aya got to her feet. It had been a while since anything had hit her that hard. Over four years. Worse: Even with Ran standing right there, Aya could still barely sense her. She had to be hiding her presence somehow. That made it harder to read her actions.

"But why?" That was all Aya could think to ask. _Is this really Ran-chan?_ She sure looked the part. Even her outfit was very in the style of Afterglow. But the way she acted was strange, even setting aside the whole attacking part. Ran wasn't usually so talkative in her experience. "Ran-chan-"

Ran was right on top of her again. "I said: don't call me that!" she shouted as she aimed a kick right at Aya's waist.

But this time Aya was ready. She grabbed Ran's leg, and using her own force against her she spun around, and flung her away. Back towards the other end of the clearing. Ran did a flip, and landed unharmed.

"I don't want to fight you!" Aya shouted.

"Too bad! I do," Ran replied before kicking off, and flying right at Aya again.

Reckless. Aya easily dodged to the side, so Ran flew right past, but she was not prepared for Ran doing another flip, and kicking off of a tree. Aya was barely able to brace herself against the impact to her chest, and got pushed backwards until they smashed into a wall of rock. The impact instantly created a bunch of rubble around them. She would probably feel that one in the morning, magic protection or not.

"Is this really all you're capable of, Maruyama-san? How has someone like you managed to keep this world safe?"

Aya coughed. "I... don't... want..."

The anger in Ran's eyes intensified. "Then suffer."

She raised her fist again, but Aya dodged her head to the side. Her face was still hit with dust and rubble as Ran's fist impacted the rock, but it gave her an opening to swing around, and kick away. To get some distance between them again. However she only got a second's reprieve before Ran charged her again.

_What is going on? Why is Ran-chan attacking me? What does she mean by 'this world'? I don't want to fight her._

She went on the defensive, which was definitely not her forte. Her usual style was just to charge in, and go on the offensive. But she didn't want to do that here, and risk hurting someone she knew. Even if that someone was trying to hurt her. And while she was able to parry, deflect, dodge, and block the attacks for the moment, she knew it couldn't last forever. This wasn't her style of fighting, so she was at a disadvantage. She could try fleeing, but she had a feeling that Ran would only follow. Taking this fight somewhere people might be close by was out of the question.

Only one option presented itself as viable. She needed to restrain her.

She grabbed her rod. "I'm sorry, Ran-chan."

"Oh no, you don't!" Ran used the opportunity to kick the rod out of Aya's hand, and flew over to grab it before Aya had the chance to recover. "So this is what yours looks like..."

"Hey, that's dangerous! Give it back!" Aya tried to grab it, but Ran just hopped out of the way.

"Heh, dangerous?" Ran let out a chuckle. "Let's see what it can do, then."

 _What?_ Aya was confused, and shocked. The rod should only work for her. Yet she could feel it responding to Ran. A glow built up in front of it, and all Aya had time to do was get out of the way. A blast shot past her, so close that she could feel the magic crackle, and it cut through the forest behind her. There were several thuds of trees hitting the ground after their trunks had been evaporated.

"Hey!" Aya was losing patience, though she noticed that for just a moment Ran looked a little shocked herself. "That's not how it's supposed to be used!"

"So what?" Ran snarled. "It's not like you can stop me."

Aya swiftly got in close, and tried to snatch the rod back, but Ran was avoiding her every move.

"If this is all you're good for, then your Guardians chose poorly." Ran taunted her. "I bet your friends are ashamed of you. Or maybe anyone who would be your friend doesn't have any shame to begin with."

Aya gritted her teeth. While it hurt her ego to have her abilities questioned, she was used to dealing with that. Insulting her friends however...

"Enough!"

Magic built up in her palm, and the rod pulled itself out of Ran's hand, and back into hers. Before Ran could recover from the shock, Aya had grabbed her by the throat, and thrown her face-first into the ground.

"Do not." Aya put her boot on Ran's neck, and pinned her down. "Speak ill. Of my friends."

Ran struggled to get free, but the boot kept her in place. Her arms and legs couldn't reach Aya, and she didn't have the strength to break out. After a minute she gave up.

"Dammit. Dammit! They were right. I can't measure up to you..." She sounded angry, but it looked like Ran was crying. "They were right..."

Aya's anger started to dissipate. "Ran-chan?" She wasn't so stupid as to let her go just yet though.

"Don't call me- ah, what does it matter? You won. I surrender. Do what you want."

"I want to know why you attacked me. What's going on? Are you really Mitake Ran?"

"What does it matter?"

"It matters." Aya pressed her foot down harder.

"Ow. Ow ow owowow, okay! I'll tell you!" The pressure eased up again. "Could you let me up first?"

"Promise you won't attack me again?"

"I promise."

"Promise you won't run?"

"I promise!"

Aya lifted her boot, and Ran pushed herself up. "Eesh, you're strong..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "If you had taken things seriously from the start..."

After making an attempt at brushing off a nearby rock, Aya took a seat. "So?"

Ran let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I'm Mitake Ran. But not your world's Mitake Ran. I'm from... elsewhere."

Aya probably shouldn't be surprised, but... "There are other worlds?"

_~There are other worlds?~_

"Yes."

_~YES.~_

"And... you are that world's magical girl?" Aya guessed. It was the only thing that made sense considering how the rod had reacted.

"... yes."

That still didn't explain the main thing. In fact it made it seem even more confusing. "So why did you attack me?"

"I..." Ran pursed her lips, and looked away.

"You promised to tell me."

Ran remained silent for a while. "They hurt Moca."

Aya blinked. "They?"

"The invaders. There were three of them. Emerged right on top of us. The others got away, but Moca tried to shield me before I could transform..."

"Is... is she..."

"The doctors say she'll be fine, but she..." Ran sniffled. "Stupid Moca. I would have been fine either way, you didn't need to..."

Aya breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad." What happened was terrible, but... "But why attack me?"

"They..." Ran's cheeks were red. "They taunted me. Said that I wasn't as strong as this world's guardian. That I wouldn't be able to protect everyone forever, just like I failed to protect Moca. They said you were the reason they were coming to my world instead."

"W-what?"

"I convinced the Guardians... my Guardians... to send me here to seek your help. But... I was angry. I just wanted to... and when I saw who you were..."

Not all of this was making sense, but Aya could feel her pain. "Ran-chan..."

"Don't-" Ran gave her an angry look for a moment, but then looked away again. "Ah, whatever."

"W-why don't you want me to call you Ra- that?"

Ran glanced at her. "Don't you remember how you used to bully me in middle school?"

Aya's eyes went wide. "I did what?!"

"After I got put in a different class from the others, I... was an easy target, I guess. And you always called me 'Ran-chan'. Hearing that in your voice was always bad news."

"I-I-I would never-" Aya couldn't remember bullying anyone in her whole life. "We never even went to same school!"

"Oh?" Ran looked puzzled. "I guess it makes sense that some things would be different in a different world..." she muttered. "You're not exactly wearing something I would have expected to ever see you in, so maybe that counts as proof."

Aya wasn't sure whether or not that was a compliment. "Your outfit is really cool," she brought up instead. "It's totally something I could see you wearing on stage with Afterglow."

"Thanks. Wait... you know about Afterglow?"

"Huh? Of course, you're... they're a band in my world too. We've performed together several times."

"You're in a band?" Ran seemed genuinely confused.

"Yes? Pastel*Palettes. Aren't they a thing in your world?"

"Oh, Shirasagi-san's group. Yeah, they're a thing, but you're not-"

"I'm the vocalist!"

Ran stared at her. "You're... hang on, are you telling me that you're an idol? You?"

"Yes!"

"Pffft."

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry." Ran's laughter didn't make her seem very sorry. "It's just... you're really nothing like the Maruyama-san I know. Though you seemed just like her when you threw me to the ground..."

"I told you I didn't want to fight," Aya grumbled.

"Yeah... sorry. And... sorry for the hurtful things I said..."

"Apology accepted," Aya said. She was aware of what anger could do to someone, and there was no point in dwelling on it. "You're different too. The Ran-chan I know isn't really this talkative."

"The Ran you know... so... are you friends in this world, then?"

"Yes. Though I mostly talk to Moca-chan and Tsugumi-chan from your band, I still think of Ran-chan as my friend. And I'm sure... er... I hope she does the same..." Aya didn't feel entirely sure any longer.

"That sounds nice. I'm sure she does." Ran was smiling.

"Hey, can I see your rod? You have one, right?"

"Huh? Yes, but..." Ran blushed. "It's embarrassing."

Aya held up her rod. "You've seen mine. I keep being told it looks like a toy." With its pink handle, and golden star on top, it looked very stereotypical for a magical girl show. "So how embarrassing could it be?"

"Mm..." Ran hesitantly reached into a pocket, and pulled out her rod. The pocket did not look large enough to contain it, nor had there been any visible indication that something had been in there beforehand, but that was how things were with magic. "Here." She showed it off. It was an elegant purple, with two small green leaves on the sides, and a pretty, crimson flower at the head.

"Whoa, it's beautiful! I somehow expected something like a microphone."

"Yeah... see, my outfit used to be different before I discovered rock&roll. Then I changed it to this, but... I couldn't change the appearance of the rod..." She sounded genuinely embarrassed. "I would love to switch it for a microphone-shaped one, but the Guardians tell me that's impossible."

Aya giggled. "I think it looks lovely. I don't see anything wrong with keeping it as it is." Then she remembered. "Oh! You said you need help?"

"Uh... well... that was kinda just an excuse, but... I can't exactly deny that you're ridiculously strong." Ran rubbed the back of her neck. "If you're able to help..."

_~Is it possible?~_

_~YES.~_

_~Why didn't you ever tell me about this?~_

_~OTHER WORLDS ARE NOT OUR CONCERN.~_

_~But if they're attacking because of me...~_

_~LIES. THE INVADERS WOULD ATTACK REGARDLESS. EVEN IF THEY SPOKE THE TRUTH, WOULD YOU PREFER MORE OF THEM CAME HERE?~_

_~No, but... I have to do something!~_

_~YOU ARE UNDER NO SUCH OBLIGATION. BUT WE CAN TELL YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE UP YOUR MIND.~_

_~So you're saying it's okay?~_

_~WE CAN NOT CONDONE SUCH ACTION. YET WE ALSO CAN NOT STOP YOU IN ANY REASONABLE WAY.~_

"The Guardians say it's okay," Aya told Ran.

_~THAT IS NOT WHAT WE SAID.~_

"Really?" Ran looked relieved. "The invaders have been pretty relentless. It calmed down for a while a few years back, with only the occasional one showing up, but about a year ago things suddenly became more busy. And it's been escalating ever since. How has it been here?"

"I haven't seen anything for the past four years. I thought it was over." Aya felt kinda bad about admitting it. "Until one suddenly showed up a little while ago."

"Nothing for four years? Must be nice..."

"Ehehe... so... er... how do we do this?"

Ran shrugged. "The Guardians were able to send me over. I assume yours can do the same."

_~Can you?~_

_~YES. ARE YOU REALLY SURE ABOUT THIS?~_

_~Yes.~_

_~VERY WELL. BUT BE WARNED, YOUR POWER WILL BE LIMITED TO WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO CARRY WITH YOU IN THE ROD. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECHARGE WITH THAT WORLD'S POWER, AND IT IS TOO COSTLY TO KEEP SENDING YOU POWER FROM OURS. AND YOU WILL BE LEAVING THIS WORLD UNPROTECTED, SO WE WILL PULL YOU BACK IMMEDIATELY IF ANYTHING SHOWS UP HERE.~_

_~Got it.~_

Aya couldn't really argue with that. It was the duty she had agreed to. And so long as she was careful about not casting too much, she should be able to last quite a while on just physical power. Though she wasn't entirely sure how much magic she consumed simply by existing as a magical girl.

Then a flaw in the plan appeared. "Um... how will I know when you're in trouble? I can't exactly stay over there all the time." And it was doubtful mobile phones managed to reach another world.

"Uh... I don't know..." Ran admitted.

_~ATTUNE YOUR RODS.~_

_~What?~_

_~TOUCH YOUR RODS TOGETHER, AND THEY WILL ATTUNE. THEN YOU CAN COMMUNICATE THROUGH THEM.~_

_~Oh.~_

Aya held out her rod. "Here, touch yours to mine."

Ran gave her a funny look.

"The Guardians say that if we attune our rods, we can communicate through them," Aya explained.

"... okay..." Ran seemed sceptical, but she pressed her rod against Aya's. There was a sound like someone struck a tuning fork, and it felt as if the fabric of reality resonated with it. "Whoa..."

"There! Now you can call me if you need help. Probably."

"Heh. I guess we won't know until I get back home. Thank you, Maruyama-sa... no, Maruyama-senpai."

Aya beamed. "You can call me Aya, you know."

Ran smiled. "I think I'll stick with Maruyama-senpai. Maybe you can also teach me a few things? If I learned how to be stupidly strong like you, maybe I'd be able to scare them away for four years too."

Again Aya wasn't entirely sure if that was a compliment. "I'd love to!" she said nonetheless. "But not right now. I have to get going. I'll get in trouble with Chisato-chan if I miss practice."

"And I should head home to check on Moca. See you later, Maruyama-senpai."

"Later, Ran-chan. Er! I mean-"

Ran laughed. "It's fine. I think I'm okay with you calling me that now."

Aya took off, and headed back towards the mainland, and Edogawa.

_~IF WE DID NOT ALREADY KNOW IT WAS FUTILE, WE WOULD URGE YOU ONCE MORE TO RECONSIDER. EACH WORLD IS THEIR OWN CONCERN.~_

_~But you already know it's futile.~_

_~YES.~_

_~How many worlds are there?~_

_~FAR MORE THAN YOU COULD COMPREHEND.~_

Aya had a feeling she'd get an answer like that. And there was no way she could help all of them. It wasn't even certain she'd be helpful to Ran. But there was only one way to find out. Hopefully the rest were managing on their own.

_~Wait, what happens if I meet myself?~_

_~FIRST OFF, THAT WON'T REALLY BE YOU. ONLY YOU ARE YOU. SECOND, JUST TRY NOT TO.~_

**Author's Note:**

> When I thought about how to have Aya meet another magical girl, there were several options. It could be someone from the other side of the planet, since I was never specific about whether Aya was truly the only one on Earth, or whether others covered other parts of the world.  
> Another option was someone from a different planet entirely going to Earth for some reason.  
> But with this years April Fool's having magical girl Mitake Ran, I thought it would be funny to do one from an alternate reality.
> 
> Also, I feel like I've taken enough of a break from it now, so I want to work on properly turning Because I Love You into a book. I am already in the process of commissioning cover art, and I need to collect all of it into one document, do all the necessary rewrites, and try to make it look nice. Maybe I can even come up with some bonus material. We'll see.  
> Which means that fanfic writing will be less of a priority again until I'm done. It feels a little bad, since I wasn't able to be as active or prolific as I had hoped when I went back to it, but I also don't want to put this off for too long.


End file.
